At 10am on the 5th of August just one day after the dramatic rescue of baby “Turkwell”, a young calf and its ailing mother was seen by a passing tourist who passed the report to the KWS vet Dr. Dominic Mijele, of our Mara Mobile Veterinary Unit.

By the time the Mobile Veterinary Unit located the elephant and its calf, the mother was in a pathetic and horrific state of collapse, able only to move her front legs and trunk, her baby clinging to her in a state of sheer terror and confusion. Dr. Dominic Mijele immobilized the mother to assess the cause of her suffering and found that an injury had shattered her femur, it caused nerve damage so sever that she was left paralyzed, with no hope of recovery or survival, and it is assumed that the injury was caused by a bullet wound, but that could not be confirmed.

The Trust was alerted of yet another rescue arriving at the Olkiombo airstrip where Dr. Dominic Mijele and KWS Rangers awaited the keepers. From the airstrip they were then driven to the ailing mother and her terrified baby some 20 kilometers away so that their expertise could ensure a smooth capture of the calf. It was a heart-wrenching scene that greeted them, the mother attempting to protect the terrified baby who was clinging to her and climbing on her in an attempt to evade a hated enemy responsible for the suffering of her adored mother. There were no dry eyes that day as the Keepers moved in to try to capture the baby once the mother was darted to immobilize her and prevent her flailing trunk from injuring the men, and to minimize any further stress.

The calf was still strong at approximately 1 year old; also quite capable of injuring a man, so the keepers needed the assistance of the KWS Rangers. Once the baby was loaded and on its way to the waiting plane, the vet euthanized the mother, thus ending her unbearable suffering.